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CHAPMANVILLE — For three innings it looked like it might be an old fashioned knockdown, dragout Logan-Chapmanville softball game circa the mid-2000s.

After a three-inning scoreless tie, however, the Logan High School Lady Cats plated seven big runs in the fourth inning and went on to shut out the rival Chapmanville Regional Lady Tigers, 9-0, in five innings on Wednesday night at Chapmanville’s Ronnie Ooten Field.

Lady Cats’ junior pitcher Aarron Ward pitched a two-hit shutout as she fired five innings, striking out four and walking one.

The Lady Cats have their eye on Vienna and the state tournament as Logan improved to 18-2 on the season.

Last year’s 12-18 disappointment in which the Logan saw its string of four straight state tournaments snapped, seems like light years away.

This is a different team.

Wednesday night’s game marked the first time the two traditional county rivals and state softball powers have met on the diamond this season. The two meet again on May 2 in a makeup game at Logan.

The Lady Cats were able to get a measure of revenge on the Lady Tigers which dominated Logan last year in two meetings to the tune of 6-4 and 8-1. Logan had gone 6-1 against Chapmanville from 2009-20012.

Chapmanville, with five state championships and Logan with four, have nine state crowns between them.

The two programs had uncharacteristic losing seasons last season with Chapmanville going 15-17, but both are bouncing back this spring.

Logan’s jump back to the top has been most dramatic, although Chapmanville has improved, too, with a young team and now stand at 13-9.

The Lady Cats and Lady Tigers were once heated Class AA sectional rivals from 2003-08. The rivalry and its intensity has seemed to cool off some in recent years but Logan coach Randy Robinette said it’s still big to come to Chapmanville and post a big W over the Lady Tigers.

“It was a big win,” Robinette said. “We came out in the fourth inning and got a few perfectly executed squeeze bunts to get us on the board. Then after that we started to hit the ball a little bit. We had good pitching. Aarron Ward pitched a good ballgame. We had a few miscues on balls on defense but that comes with the territory. I am pleased with their effort. Chapmanville’s pitcher (Cydnee Lambert) pitched really well. She had us off balance after the first three innings.

“(Chapmanville coach) Ronnie (Ooten) has as fine ballclub and I’m sure when we play again in Logan it will be a ballgame. I’m really proud of my kids. We’re 18-2 and we’re number two in the state. We’re playing hard and we’re trying to get as many wins as we can and we are trying to improve each day.”

The Lady Tigers’ Lambert pitched three scoreless innings to begin the game but ended up surrendering eight runs on seven hits with five walks, a hit batter and five strikeouts over four innings. She was relieved by Shian Meeks in the fifth.

The top of the fourth inning was a disaster for Chapmanville.

Logan left fielder Kelsey Ward led off with a triple and then came home with pitcher Aarron Ward’s perfectly executed squeeze bunt to make it 1-0.

Two batters later, Hana Sedlock had an infield single and Aarron Ward came home on catcher Chastidy Wiley’s squeeze bunt as Logan led 2-0.

Kiana Hill followed with an RBI single which went off the glove of Chapmanville shortstop Meeks who ranged far to her right and back into shallow left field as Logan made it 3-0.

Summer Collins then had a bunt single and Hannah Kolovich walked to load up the bases.

Then it was senior second baseman Shelby Hale who delivered a three-run bases loaded triple down the right field line to score three as the lead swelled to 6-0. Hale later scored on a passed ball to make it 7-0.

Logan then tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth as Sedlock doubled and scored on Hill’s RBI single. Ciara Conley then had a pinch-hit RBI single to up the margin to 9-0.

Ward then got the Lady Tigers out in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early due to the mercy rule.

Sedlock was 2-for-2 for Logan. Hill was 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Chapmanville had a single in the second by catcher Savannah Wiley and an infield single in the fifth by leadoff batter and right fielder Hollie Carter.

Robinette said Hale has stepped up lately.

“Shelby has been playing really well,” he said. “We had her down in the order. We decided to move her up to second today. She has really been hitting the ball well. Collins has been bothered by a foot problem. We saw that again today, so we’ve been trying to keep it easy with her to get her back. We’ve had a few injuries, a few nagging things but I’m really happy with the way we played.”

Lady Tigers’ coach Ronnie Ooten said his team made too many defensive miscues.

“You can’t give good teams seven or eight outs in an inning,” Ooten said. “We had too many miscues. We knew we were going to struggle some pitching this year but Cydnee has done great for us. She has come in and has really pitched well. We’re young and we’re making young mistakes. After all the miscues it started to snowball. We just didn’t play that well. Their squeeze bunts came after all of our errors. We shouldn’t have been in that situation. That set them up.”

Logan was scheduled to host Lincoln County on Thursday night. LC routed Logan 8-0 last weekend at the Best of the Best. The Lady Cats then host Scott on Friday in a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader before hosting Pikeview on Saturday in a 1 p.m. twinbill.

On Monday, Logan is set to host Man. Logan then hosts Sherman on April 30, goes to Wyoming East on April 30 and closes out May 2 at home against Chapmanville.

“We have a lot of games coming up,” Robinette said. “We have to get them in.”

Logan has been awarded the top seed for its Class AAA sectional, beginning May 6 at Nitro. Host Nitro and St. Albans play the first game. LHS is set to face the loser of the Nitro-St. Albans game. The winners then advance on May 7.

Wednesday’s game was Chapmanville Senior Night as CRHS honored its only senior, first baseman Lauryn Easterling.

The Lady Tigers have six away games to close out the regular season. On Thursday, CRHS went to Herbert Hoover. Chapmanville then goes to Sherman on April 28, to Poca on April 30, to Lincoln County on May 1 and to Logan the following night and to Tolsia on May 3 in a makeup game.

Chapmanville’s two-team Class AA sectional tournament with Scott is slated to begin on May 6 at home. The two teams will play a best-of-three game series. Game 2 is then set for May 7 with a winner-take-all game, if necessary, slated for May 8.

Chapmanville won the sectional title last year over Scott, two games to one, at Madison.

The Lady Tigers played the Logan game without freshman pitcher Faith Bell who was reportedly hit in the head with a ball during warmups before the Sissonville game on Tuesday. She’s OK but Chapmanville’s coaching staff decided to let her rest.

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2014 Logan High School

Softball Schedule (18-2):

March 27: at South Charleston, W 3-2

March 28: Point Pleasant, W 1-0

March 31: St. Albans, W 4-3

April 1: at Winfield, W 6-3

April 2: at Nitro, W 13-2

April 4: vs. Nicholas County (at Chapmanville tournament), W 8-2

April 5: vs. James Monroe (at Chapmanville tournament), W 9-0

April 5: vs. Sissonville at Chapmanville Tournament, W 5-0

April 7: at Man, W 2-0

April 8: at Sherman, W 10-2

April 9: Wyoming East, W 8-2

April 10: Winfield, W 2-1

April 11: at Point Pleasant, W 5-4

April 18: vs. Shady Spring at Best of the Best Tournament (at Buffalo), W 14-0

April 18: vs. Winfield at Best of the Best Tournament (at Buffalo), W 8-7

April 19: vs. Cabell Midland at Best of the Best Tournament (at Buffalo), L 1-3

April 19: vs. Lincoln County at Best of the Best Tournament (at Buffalo), L 0-8

April 21: at St. Albans, W 10-4

April 22: at George Washington, W 13-2

April 23: at Chapmanville, W 9-0

April 24: Lincoln County, late

April 25: Scott (DH), 5:30 p.m.

April 26: Pikeview (DH), 1 p.m.

April 28: Man, 5:30 p.m.

April 29: Sherman, 5:30 p.m.

April 30: at Wyoming East, 5:30 p.m.

May 2: Chapmanville, 5:30 p.m.

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2014 Chapmanville Regional

High School Softball Schedule (13-9):

March 21: Tolsia, W 12-0

March 24: at Sissonville, L 1-7

March 27: Mingo Central, W 12-2

March 28: Herbert Hoover, L 6-11

March 31: Man, W 7-6

April 1: at Mingo Central, W 28-0

April 4: James Monroe (Lady Tigers Invitational), L 2-11

April 5: Pikeview (Lady Tigers Invitational), W 3-2

April 5: Richwood (Lady Tigers Invitational), W 12-0

April 7: at Wayne, L 2-10

April 8: Scott, L 1-4

April 10: Poca, W 4-3

April 11: Sherman, W 11-0

April 14: Lincoln County, L 0-17

April 16: Wayne, L 2-10

April 17: vs. St. Marys at Best of the Best Tournament at Buffalo, W 8-1

April 17: vs. Richwood at Best of the Best Tournament at Buffalo, W 10-0

April 19: vs. Nicholas County at Best of the Best Tournament at Buffalo, W 3-2

April 19: vs. Buffalo at Best of the Best Tournament at Buffalo, L 0-2

April 21: at Man, W 6-2

April 22: Sissonville, W 7-2

April 23: Logan, L 0-9

April 24: at Herbert Hoover, late

April 28: at Sherman, 5:30 p.m.

April 30: at Poca, 6 p.m.

May 1: at Lincoln County, 5:30 p.m.

May 2: at Logan, 5:30 p.m.

May 3: at Tolsia, 5:30 p.m.

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